Brendan Rodgers reveals main cause of Manchester City's rise to first

Liverpool manager implies differences in wage bill could be what ultimately separates themselves from City, who hold top spot in the Premier League.

One of the main arguments in renowned football book Soccernomics is the relationship between not transfer expenditure and domestic titles, but total wage bills and silverware.

Manchester City, should they - as expected - claim the Premier League crown on Sunday, May 11, will underline the point Simon Kuper was noting, that is a trend between how much a team is collectively paid in an annual wage bill and how far up the division they finish.

For Brendan Rodgers, that difference could be what separates his Liverpool side, who have thrilled, enthralled and won over the hearts of neutral fans with their recklessly attacking spirit, to Manchester City, who have lost Sergio Aguero to injury, Alvaro Negredo to inconsistent form yet have still been able to rely upon elite-level striker Edin Dzeko to fire them to much needed victories of late.

"Realistically, we all expect Manchester City to win and that is no disrespect to West Ham United," said Rodgers, to talkSPORT earlier today, Friday.

"Big Sam [Allardyce] has done a great job at West Ham and they keep a lot of clean sheets in the league so I'm sure they will make it really difficult but if the result goes against us and we finish second, we finish second to a team with the highest wage bill ever in the history of sport.

"That shows how much we have progressed. We have pushed them all the way to the very end and that is something we will draw strength from."

Rodgers, even if his side finish runners-up in the league, will have made a case for consensus manager of the year prizes due to his selection policy, exciting brand of football and for the transition in Liverpool's overall quality and consistency. With financial backing, there is no reason why the club cannot continue to progress.

"I have been delighted with the progress we have made. The players have been absolutely outstanding."